Photo by James DeCamp.
When the Kenyon football team takes McBride Field for its first home game of the season Saturday, the turf will reflect decades of alumni who played before. The new turf, which bears a shadow of Old Kenyon as well as the latest turf technology, is the direct result of alumni investment.
The alumni, led by Warren Martin ’78 and Bruce Broxterman ’76, were motivated to capitalize on the team’s 5-5 finish last season, the team’s first non-losing record since 2012. “We felt that we could use that as leverage with the football alums to take the first big step to getting the new field up to standard and beyond with the rest of the teams in the league,” Martin said.
With the go-ahead from the College, their efforts began in January. The group faced the fundraising equivalent of a two-minute drill, needing to raise the funds in just a few months to schedule the installation before this season.
Martin and Broxterman worked to recruit alumni leaders by decade to reach out to their peers, partnering with Coach Ian Good for the outreach. Ed Beemiller ’89, Joe Bline ’90 P’27, Jake Genachowski ’15, and William Christen ’71 were also critical to the effort. Together, they gave and inspired gifts ranging from $25 to six figures from more than 100 alumni.
Martin himself personally made more than 300 calls.
“He and I share a real passion for Kenyon College and, particularly, the football program,” said Broxterman. “Our experiences on the practice field, in the weight room, the film sessions and on Saturday afternoons instilled in all of us the work ethic, determination, leadership skills and feeling of brotherhood that have carried us through our lives and careers — Kenyon football was truly a life changing experience that I still embrace today.”
President Julie Kornfeld acknowledged how philanthropy was able to accelerate the timeframe for the replacement. “So much of what Kenyon is today is due to the investment of alumni and others; it’s wonderful to see this group of football alumni mobilize, as a team across generations, to make this beautiful turf a reality.”
Coach Ian Good extended his gratitude to everyone involved. “The efforts by our alumni to give our program such a tremendous gift and upgrade in facilities is going to have a lasting impact for years to come. Having this new turf as a recruiting tool will be a benefit as we provide a safe and exciting surface for players far into the future to practice and play on.”
As a Division III school, Kenyon College cannot offer athletics scholarships, so state-of-the-art facilities, like the Lowry Center and now the field, can be a big draw. The lacrosse teams also use McBride Field for practices.
The synthetic turf was installed by the Motz Group and offers the highest standards for quality, safety and durability. It also contains 50 percent fewer seams, improving field integrity and reducing maintenance needs. The Motz Group has worked with multiple colleges and universities in the area, including The Ohio State University, and has experience at the professional level as well, installing surfaces for FC Cincinnati at TQL Stadium and for the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium. Watch a video of the new turf.
The volunteers and donors will be recognized prior to kickoff at the Homecoming game Sept. 27 versus John Carroll University. (A class of six will be inducted into the Kenyon Athletics Hall of Fame that weekend and recognized at halftime.)
“In our lives, the Kenyon football experience was a very important part of our development. The values and lessons we learned shaped our lives after Kenyon. We wanted that for these young men,” Martin said.
They are eagerly anticipating the team’s future success. “We look forward to celebrating our collective accomplishment on homecoming weekend and then begin next steps.”